San Francisco's Kathleen Liu, MD, Named NKF's Shaul G. Massry Distinguished Lecture Award Winner

Honor to be presented at the National Kidney Foundation 2025 Spring Clinical Meetings

NEW YORK, Jan. 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) has awarded Kathleen Liu, MD, Professor of Medicine and Anesthesia in the Divisions of Nephrology and Critical Care Medicine; Medical Director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit and the Apheresis/Hemodialysis Unit at the University of California, San Francisco, with the Shaul G. Massry Distinguished Lecture Award. 

Each year NKF considers the work of hundreds of specialists in the field of nephrology and selects among them those who most exemplify the relentless efforts of the NKF to enhance the lives of patients through action, education and accelerating change.

Work that is vital to the more than 35 million adults in the U.S. who are affected by chronic kidney disease and the 1 in 3 people who are at risk.

Among these prestigious awards is the Shaul G. Massry Distinguished Lecture Award. NKF has presented this lectureship since 1996.  It was established to honor Dr. Shaul G. Massry for his scientific achievements and his contributions to the kidney healthcare community and to the National Kidney Foundation.  Dr. Liu will receive the distinguished award at the NKF 2025 Spring Clinical Meetings in Boston, April 9 - 13. Don't miss Dr. Liu's Shaul G. Massry Distinguished Lecture titled Sepsis-Associated AKI: State of the Art in 2025, on Saturday, April 12, 8:45 AM – 9:45 AM.

Liu's career has focused on researching acute kidney injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome, with an emphasis on biomarkers and clinical trials. In addition, she has been an active member of numerous protocol development committees for the NHLBI ARDS Network and PETAL Network. She has co-led Phase 1 and 2 trials of mesenchymal stromal cell therapy for ARDS. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was a Co-Principal investigator for the I-SPY COVID-19 trial, an open-label, phase 2 platform multicenter trial focused on novel therapies in patients with severe COVID-19.

"It is truly an honor to receive this award," said Dr. Liu.  "Dr. Massry is described as a highly collaborative scientist who "joked that he was paid for his hobby." I aspire to be like Dr. Massry and to improve care for kidney patients in collaboration with others."

"NKF is honored to present Kathleen Liu, MD, PhD, MAS with the Dr. Shaul G. Massry Lectureship," said Dr. Kirk Campbell, President of the National Kidney Foundation. "As an active member of numerous protocol development committees, Dr. Liu has been a leader in clinical research and her work has been a vital part of advancing kidney care. Her career truly reflects Dr. Massry and his legacy of work."

Dr. Liu was a Steering Committee Member for the NIDDK funded Assessment, Serial Evaluation, and Subsequent Sequelae in Acute Kidney Injury (ASSESS-AKI) study focused on long term outcomes of AKI. She is the current external steering committee chair for the NIDDK-funded Caring for OutPatiEnts after Acute Kidney Injury (COPE-AKI) study. Dr. Liu chairs the American Society of Nephrology Kidney Health Guideline Oversight Committee and is a member of the ASN AKI!Now workgroup. Dr. Liu has contributed much to the NKF Spring Clinical Meetings, previously serving on the SCM program committee and as a faculty member.

NKF will honor all award winners at the NKF 2025 Spring Clinical Meetings, which will be held in Boston April 9-13.

NKF Spring Clinical Meetings 
For the past 33 years, nephrology healthcare professionals from across the country have come to NKF's Spring Clinical Meetings to learn about the newest developments related to all aspects of nephrology practice; network with colleagues; and present their research findings. The NKF Spring Clinical Meetings are designed for meaningful change in the multidisciplinary and interprofessional healthcare teams' skills, performance, and patient health outcomes. It is the only conference of its kind that focuses on translating science into practice for the entire healthcare team. This year's Spring Clinical Meetings will be held April 9-13 in Boston.

Kidney Disease
In the United States, more than 37 million adults are estimated to have kidney disease, also known as chronic kidney disease (CKD)—and approximately 90 percent don't know they have it. About 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. are at risk for kidney disease. Risk factors for kidney disease include: diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and family history. People of Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian American, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander descent are at increased risk for developing the disease. Black or African American people are about four times as likely as White people to have kidney failure. Hispanics experience kidney failure at about double the rate of White people.

NKF Professional Membership
Healthcare professionals can join NKF to receive access to tools and resources for both patients and professionals, discounts on professional education, and access to a network of thousands of individuals who treat patients with kidney disease. Visit https://www.kidney.org/membership to learn more and join our community today.

About the National Kidney Foundation
The National Kidney Foundation is revolutionizing the fight to save lives by eliminating preventable kidney disease, accelerating innovation for the dignity of the patient experience, and dismantling structural inequities in kidney care, dialysis, and transplantation. For more information about kidney disease, please visit www.kidney.org/

SOURCE National Kidney Foundation